Lion and Fox
by Lady Aoi
Summary: When Hanagata is caputred by Gartlant, he begins to grow up. So rated for limish yaoi, violence, a little non-con? Ratings will go up IF this continues. Tell me if you'd like it to.


Lion and Fox  
  
a SMJ fan fic by   
  
Lady Aoi  
  
Summary: When Hanagata is taken prisoner on a mission to Gartlant, he begins to grow up...  
Pairing: FaustXHanagata, HanagataXFaust, Otaru/Lime  
Rating: NC-17 for lemon, language, violence, mature content and yaoi (some of it of questionable consent, I'm afraid. ;_;)  
Disclaimer: Saber Marionette J, it's characters, etc. were created by Satoru Akahori, Hiroshi Negishi and Tsukasa Kotobuki and are owned by them, Bandai Visual, Sotsu Agency and TV Tokyo. I'm just making them do things w/o permission O.o;;.   
Author's Notes: Strangely enough, you are looking at my first ever Saber Marionette fan fiction. I ws going to post it some time ago, but writers block on certain parts, school and other projects and fics kept me from doing so. Originally, I had planned on this being a multi-part fic (I'm thinking at least five parts), but I've lost a little stamina with it lately and I'm not sure how I should continue it or even if I should. Please let me know what you think and/or if you'd like to see me continue it. If enough people seem to like it, perhaps I'll be inspired to find a way to end it. Anyway, this fic was inspired by the work of Xel-Chan, my OtaruXHanagata sister-in-arms. Thanks for the inspiration, Xel, and thanks for keeping SMJ yaoi alive and well!!  
  
Oh and Schwarzburg isn't something you missed in the series. It's a prison camp in Gartlant created by me.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hanagata Mitsurugi trembled as the silhouetted figure leaned against the window and lit a cigarette. The prison cell was already cold enough, he decided, and the many layers of sweat now covering his half-naked body only made matters worse.  
  
"Are you going to talk now, boy?" his interrogator asked flicking his wrist.  
  
Hanagata's wide blue eyes followed the falling ash for a brief moment, before turning back to the stone floor.  
  
"No."  
  
This word was followed by a sharp cry of pain as a whip sank into the exposed flesh of his back.  
  
"We know you had friends with you, as we saw them ourselves," the interrogator continued, bringing the cigarette back to his lips for another puff. "But we don't know where the devil they ran off too. And we thought, being part of the team, perhaps you could assist us."  
  
Hanagata took several deep breaths to calm his palpitating heart and the searing pain in his back. If only things were that simple. Had he merely been a foot soldier on his way to invading Gartlant, everything would be alright now. He would be in a quiet Gartlant dungeon cell, awaiting his father's ransom money.  
  
Instead, as the one member of Otaru Mamiya's covert espionage team unlucky enough to get captured, he was here.   
  
And a sinking feeling in his stomach informed Hanagata things were about to get much worse.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
In his office, Faust the Tenth sat nursing a glass of red wine while watching the goings-on in Cell #421 on a nearby monitor.  
  
"And you say he won't talk?" the fuhrer questioned, turning his icy gaze to the image of the broken man on the cell's floor.  
  
General Goddel nodded solemnly. "Von Hindenberg says he has no knowledge of any rebellious activity in the State, fuhrer."  
  
"Indeed," Faust studied the scarcely breathing body with the curiosity of a lion. "Well, then, perhaps a month in Schwarzburgh will make him more cooperative. See that it is done, Goddel."  
  
"Sir,"   
  
"Annoying," Faust snarled as Goddel switched the monitor off. "One begins to lose one's faith in the common man."  
  
"Even the healthiest of apples contains its share of fallow seeds, sir."  
  
"It seems you are a born philosopher," Faust smiled slightly, taking a sip of wine. "Pray tell, how is the Japoness spy, that Hanagata Mitsurugi's interrogation progressing?"  
  
"It was difficult at first, my lord. Intially, Hanagata refused to speak. But I am told that as soon as Karls ordered Tiger to get slightly more...persuasive with her whip, that he not only divulged all the information we wanted, but provided a list all targets --both successful and future -- Japoness is planning on striking in the next few months."  
  
"All the better for him, then," Faust mused, trailing a finger around the rim of the crystal goblet."Goddel, let's look in on this Hanagata Mitsurugi. Given that Tiger herself is assisting the interrogation, it's a wonder that he's still breathing. He must be built like a tank in body if not in spirit."  
  
"Sir," Goddel saluted and pressed a button on the consul. The image of Hindenburg's empty cell flashed to static and then quickly sharpened on a room where a young man lay writhing on the floor, screaming in pain as the red-haired saber doll lashed his bare back again and again.  
  
"Please!!" Hanagata screamed, attempting unsuccessfully to painfully roll out of the reach of the lash. "I told you everything!! I don't know what else they had planned!! I don't know! I don't know!!!"  
  
"Liar," Tiger hissed, bringing her whip down again as Hanagata cried out.  
  
Back in the fuhrer's room, Goddel's lips twisted into a thin smile. "It would appear, sir, that Hanagata-san is built more like a willow," he observed.  
  
But Faust didn't seem to be listening. Slowly, he sat his wine goblet on the arm of his red leather chair and leaned forward, his gray eyes affixed to the screen as the young man screamed while attempting to simultaneously dodge and shield himself from the numerous blows.  
  
"Faust-sama? Is something the matter?"  
  
But Faust simply raised a gloved hand for silence. Puzzled, Goddel watched as the fuhrer studied the image on the screen, his chiseled face impassive but his eyes alive with something that looked almost like...  
  
"Tell Tiger to stand down."  
  
"My Lord?"  
  
"He has confessed. I will handle this case from here on out. Tell Tiger and Karls to return to their quarters." Rising from his chair, Faust again looked to the still immobile general. "Did you not hear me the first time, Goddel? Order the marionette to desist!"  
  
"Yes sir," Goddel immediately pressed another button on the monitor's consul and spoke Faust's order into a tiny speaker. In the cell on the television screen, the marionette lowered her whip and turned to face the monitor. As Goddel relayed the rest of Faust's instructions both she and the interrogator exited the cell, leaving Hanagata Mitsurugi whimpering alone on the ground.  
  
"Have two sabers meet me at his cell door," Faust said, tying his cloak around his shoulders as he walked towards the door. "I doubt he'll put up any resistance but I am not a man to take chances."  
  
"Yes, my lord," and Goddel saluted as the metal door clanged shut behind the dictator.  
  
~*~*~*~  
He had been so sure of his silence, so certain that, no matter what they did, no matter what violence or terror they used against him, he would remain true to his love.  
  
Otaru-kun...  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
"Whatever ya do, Hanagata, for heck's sake don't tell them ANYTHING if you get caught. Got it?"  
  
"Hai, Otaru-kun.....mhh... care to seal those secrets with a kiiiiiiisss?"  
  
"Gahh!! Stop it ya freak!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
But the moment the whip had seared his flesh, the secrets had come pouring from his lips. Otaru Mamiya, Bloodberry, Cherry, Lime... Gartlant's Main Computer... it's factory bases along the Gartlant/Peterburg border... it's bases in the forest.... bombs... data bases... espionage...  
  
And even when he had told them every last secret, it hadn't been enough. The Saber doll was still beating him as if he had never opened his lips.  
  
"P--please..... stop....STOP!!" Hanagata had cried, trying to curl into a ball as lashes rained down on his unprotected back. "I -- I don't know ANYTHING else. ANYTHING!!!"  
  
And slowly but surely, Hanagata found himself fading in and out of consciousness. One moment he was in the cell trying to dodge the flesh-numbing blows and the next --  
  
"Onii-sama!! Come find me!"  
  
He was back at his father's villa, searching through the rose garden for Yumeji, who was hiding in his usual spot-- the gazebo. A few more moments beneath the leering doll's whip and he was inside the Master's dojo, or watching Cherry make yakisoba... or being lowered gently onto a futon as Otaru spoke the words to his soul...  
  
"Koibito no Otaru, Aishiteru..."  
  
And then, as if from a great height in the darkness that was slowly taking over his vision, he heard a distant voice telling the tiger to lie down...whatever that meant, it seemed to put an end to the beatings.  
  
Hanagata then lay trembling on the cold stone floor as he listened to two pairs of footsteps receding, the clang of a metal door, and then a dread silence punctuated only by the buzzing of the room's fluorescent lights.  
  
"O--taru--k--kun..." he whimpered, wrapping his arms around himself and doing his best to curl into a fetal position. Dimly, he was surprised to note that he wasn't bleeding as badly as he'd imagined. At least it didn't seem this would kill him anytime soon.  
  
Although, given the present situation, it seemed that death might be a preferable choice if given a list of options...  
  
Before Hanagata could continue down this morbid train of thought, the door to his cell clanged open again. Deciding his tormentors had returned to finish their work, Hanagata whimpered even more as he huddled against the floor.  
  
"Please... don't hurt me again," he begged. "I really don't know where they went... I don't... I don't...."  
  
"So you have said."  
  
Startled by this new voice, Hanagata raised his head to look at the intruder. And at the sight of the imposing figure, he cried out in terror.  
  
"Thank you for the warm welcome," Faust purred, drawing closer to the boy as Hanagata scrambled to back brokenly away from him. "But I do suggest you stay quiet. You don't want to make things any more painful for yourself than they already are, Mitsurugi."  
  
But in spite of the pain in his back and chest, Hanagata managed to pull himself to his knees. "Wh--what do you want?" he managed to stammer.  
  
At this action, Faust shook his head disapprovingly and knelt to face Hanagata. "You're going to seriously hurt yourself if you don't stay still," he admonished again, his eyes turning to the red rivers springing from the tops of the boy's shoulders. "And from the looks of it, you have seen enough punishment for one day." Gently he reached out to touch the boy's face.   
  
Startled, Hanagata pulled away from this intrusion. "I-- I --"  
  
"Yes, boy? What is it?"   
  
Hanagata shivered as Faust's long fingers brushed through his thick blonde hair. "What are you going to do to me," the boy whispered at long last.  
  
The ghost of a smile played across Faust's thin lips. "A good question," he said at last. "Let us just say I hate to see beautiful things damaged..."  
  
"B--beautiful things...?"  
  
"I tire of the plastic sincerities of saber dolls," the dictator mused, stroking Hanagata's filthy cheek gently. "and Gartlant's men are so uninteresting. While you, on the other hand..."  
  
The young man was too frightened to speak as Faust's fingers trailed down his sweat-chilled neck, completing the fuhrer's thought better than words ever could.  
  
After a moment, Faust removed his hand and turned from Hanagata with a flurry of navy cloth.  
  
"Take him to my chambers," he spoke softly, but the arm that gestured to the two saber guards betrayed a forcefulness that sent jolts of icy lightning down Hanagata's back.   
  
".... o--onegai...!" Hanagata was on his knees before the sabers reached him. "I b--b--beg you..." he whispered, grabbing desperately at the hem of Faust's cape. "I... m--my f-- my father --"  
  
But Faust didn't turn around. "Your father wants nothing more to do with you, Mitsurugi. Or has the conspicuous lack of his bodyguards in my palace not convinced you?" In spite of Hanagata's tenacious grip, Faust easily pulled his cloak away from the boy and glided off, raven-like, into the velvet darkness.  
  
"Please!!" Hanagata cried, as the mechanical arms of two Gartlant sabers looped around his own. "I-- he'll pay anything for -- for my release!! Anything!! Just -- just contact him and you'll see, Faust-sama!"  
  
"Make sure he is properly healed and washed," was the only answer from the retreating darkness.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"GRAMPA!! GRAMPA!!! I MISSED YOU GRAMPA!!"  
  
"Ahh!! Lime!" Shogun Iyesu laughed good naturedly and reached up a hand to pat the blue-haired marionette on the head as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. "Thank you I --urk!!--I missed -- you --t--too!!"  
  
"How dare you treat your Shogun with such familiarity?!" Hikozaemon cried, glaring daggers at the marionette (who was now attempting to braid the Shogun's hair).  
  
"Relax, Hikozaemon, Lime is a friend," Ieysu said calmly. "Isn't that right, Lime?"  
  
"HAIII!!!!" and the Shogun gasped and began to turn red as Lime hugged him even harder.  
  
"WHY YOU LITTLE --!!!"  
  
Otaru Mamiya merely sighed and shook his head at the antics before him. At least someone was happy, he decided as he turned his gaze to the open window. How strange... the breeze was still blowing clouds across the blue sky. If this kept up, there would certainly be a plasma storm tonight... Hanagata had always hated plasma storms. Either that, or he simply used them as a ready ploy to visit Otaru's apartment in the middle of the night and a rather innocuous reason to get into Otaru's bed.  
  
~*~*~*~  
"B--but I'm scared, Otaru-kun!!! Please?!?"  
  
"Alright, alright, Hanagata. Jeeze. But only for a minute ok-- HEY!! GET YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM THAT!!"  
  
"Ohhh, Otaru-kuuuuuun!! I'm only trying to-- GAHHHH!!!!"  
  
It was possibly the only time all three marionettes had punched Hanagata at once.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Baka," Otaru whispered, closing his eyes. And for a moment, he felt a rage grow inside him. "We had an agreement, Hanagata! Why didn't you stay with us?!"  
  
"Otaru-kun?"  
  
Slowly, Otaru turned to face the Shogun and his adviser only to find his sadness mirrored in their eyes. Even Lime, whose sole desire upon leaving Gartlant's borders had been to see her 'grampa', now looked glum.  
  
"Ne, Otaru," she said after a moment, "I'm worried 'bout Hannie-chan."  
  
"We all are, Lime," the Shogun soothed, patting the marionette's head again. "Otaru-kun? Is there anything else you can tell us about his disappearance? Anything you may have forgotten?"  
  
  
Otaru shook his head sadly. "I've told you the whole story, Shogun-sama. We were in the underground caverns and one minute Hanagata was right behind us, and the next..." he trailed off into helpless and shrugging silence.  
  
"Shogun-sama, is there anything that can be done?" Bloodberry asked, resting a hand gently on Otaru's shoulder.  
  
"Nothing, I'm afraid, for the time being," Hikozaemon interjected. "Japoness intelligence were able to confirm only two things; first, that Hanagata Mitsurugi was taken prisoner by Gartlant troops at approximately 3:45 p.m. yesterday afternoon, and second --" he paused to take a reaffirming breath. "That his whereabouts in Gartlant are currently unknown."  
  
"I see... so then..."  
  
"Otaru-sama, please don't blame yourself," Cherry interrupted. "We couldn't have known he'd get lost. And we'd all made a promise to stay together. It wasn't your fault."  
  
"Yeah... not my fault..." Otaru mused, not acknowledging Cherry as the small marionette placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.  
  
~But if that's the case then why can't I get him out of my mind?~  
  
"Cherry is right," the Shogun interjected as Otaru appeared to slip into his thoughts again. "It wasn't your fault Hanagata was captured and dwelling on the fact won't change the situation."  
  
"Is there nothing we can do, though?" Otaru asked, momentarily perking up.   
  
Hikozaemon shook his head. "The most you can do is take the ladies home, Otaru. Unless you four would prefer to stay here in case we learn anything else."  
  
"It's alright, Otaru, we're willing to stay," Bloodberry said, giving Otaru's shoulder a confident and (in Cherry's mind) a rather ingratiating squeeze.  
  
Otaru was silent for a moment. "No," he said finally, "you guys worked real hard these last three days. It's time we all had a rest. Will you please contact me if you hear anything else?" he asked, turning his gaze to meet the Shogun's eyes.  
  
"We will let you know the moment we do," the Shogun replied, giving Otaru and the marionettes his most gentle smile. "But please, Otaru-kun... rest now, for your own sake?"   
"Hai," Otaru tried to return the smile. "Alright, guys. You heard the Shogun. Let's go have dinner."  
  
But not even Lime seemed pleased at the prospect as the quartet left the Shogun's chambers for the bustle of the street outside.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The dolls proceeded to carry out Faust's orders to the letter. Upon leaving his cell, Hanagata was escorted to a dim white-walled room which smelled vaguely of disinfectant. And here, lying naked upon a table, two glassy-eyed dolls healed his wounds with silver instruments that glowed with a strange blue light.  
  
A few hours later (at least in Hanagata's estimation), he was gently lifted from the table and carried to a warm bath, where the marionettes proceeded, in spite of his feeble protestations that he could wash himself, to clean what remained of the blood and grime from his skin. He was then taken down a long and hermetic hallway and finally deposited on a large bed inside a cold chamber.  
  
As soon as the sabers had left, Hanagata shivered, and nestled into the thick blankets. By burrowing down and closing his eyes tightly, he found he could almost trick himself into believing he was back at Joshuya. Soon, Yumeji would come in to remind Hanagata that he'd overslept again. And then there would be a warm shower and breakfast followed by a visit to Otaru's apartment --  
  
Otaru-kun....  
  
Had it not been for the smell of the place, Hanagata decided, this imagined comfort might have worked. Faust's bedchamber, like the man himself, smelled faintly of cinnamon and ozone... not unpleasant but unfamiliar enough to send Hanagata's already taxed senses into near-panic.  
  
If only Otaru-kun were here, none of this would have happened.  
  
But that was the problem. Otaru-kun and the marionettes had abandoned him in the underground caverns on their flight home. And while Hanagata was grateful to know they were out of harm's way, a part of him still wished...  
  
"Otaru-kun... why didn't you come back for me?"  
  
"Some questions are often best left unanswered, Mitsurugi."   
  
With a gasp, Hanagata's blue eyes snapped open. Reclining on the bed, only inches away from him, lay Faust the Tenth, his deep gray eyes slightly hidden by his blonde locks. At the sight of Hanagata's attention, the man smiled lightly, moving a hand up to brush the stray hair from his chiseled face.  
  
"They prepared you well. Good. I was afraid they'd spoil things somehow. After all, one cannot find good help these days."  
  
Whimpering, Hanagata curled in on himself, shutting his eyes again in fear. In the darkness behind his eyelids, he heard the dictator chuckle lightly.  
  
"You don't find my jokes amusing, Mitsurugi? Very well. Perhaps a little wine will be more to your liking?"  
  
Huddling against the pillows, Hanagata shook his head wildly, afraid to assent and yet terrified of the consequences he would reap from this disobedience. But Faust simply rewarded him with another chuckle, and shifted his weight closer to the cowering young man.  
  
"Come now, Mitsurugi," the dictator purred as Hanagata gasped to feel cold glass touch his cheek. "It will warm you up. Come on. Open your eyes, boy. I'm certain you're cold under there."  
  
And slowly, hesitantly, Hanagata opened his eyes again. In the interim between sight, Faust had crawled to his side and now dangled the goblet inches away from the boy's hand.  
  
"Go on, taste it," Faust's voice was gentle, almost paternal. "You have my word no harm will come to you from this wine. After all, why would I want to harm such a beautiful creature? Now come, boy. Drink before I change my mind and decide to use you roughly!"  
  
Trembling a little at Faust's harsher tone, Hanagata timidly slid an arm from beneath the covers. "Y-- you keep saying that. That I'm b--beautiful," he whispered. "Why?"  
  
"Why?" Faust's lips parted in bemused smile. "I only say so because I am an ardent admirer of beautiful things," his smile only widened as he eased the goblet into Hanagata's grip.  
  
"I--I see," Hanagata raised the glass to his lips and sipped hesitantly at the wine. Stronger than red wine, yet strangely sweet.   
  
"Drink it all now," Faust murmured, shifting his weight slightly. "It will make you warm."  
  
Obediently, Hanagata sipped the wine, slowly at first. As his shivering began to subside, however, his sips became larger and larger.  
  
"Are you enjoying it?" Faust murmured, his eyes roving over the outlines of Hanagata's frail form.  
  
The boy barely noticed, however. "Y--yes, thank you," he murmured. "I think -- it is helping a bit,"  
  
The dictator nodded slightly. "Mitsurugi, as long as you are in Gartlant I promise no harm will come to you. You will stay on in my chambers as a personal guest. For that is what I consider you to be,"  
  
"Mhh-hmm," Hanagata smiled slightly, swirling the wine in the goblet. How wonderful, he thought, watching the liquid bubble and foam at the motion, a guest...  
  
"My sabers will see to your every need and desire. You will want for nothing."  
  
"Hmmmm..." it tasted so good Hanagata couldn't help but take one or two gulps as he drank.  
  
"And you are free to come and go anywhere in my country you may please. Escorted by my sabers, of course."  
  
"Of course..." something warm began moving up one of his legs.  
  
"And for my kindness, I ask only one thing..."  
  
"Hee hee, tickles..." Hanagata giggled, moving his thigh a little to escape the feeling.  
  
It only persisted however. "That you give yourself over to me completely. Anything I ask you will do promptly and without complaint."  
  
"Anything... without.... tickles!!" Hanagata giggled again and reached under the quilt to bat the bug away.  
  
His fingers met with those of a long hand, which promptly closed around them.  
  
"Nani?!" Hanagata's blue eyes shot towards the blonde man beside him. Faust was smiling faintly, his arm hidden to the elbow by the blankets  
  
"W--what did you do to me?" Hanagata murmured, trying to pull away from Faust's grip.  
  
Smiling, Faust only tightened his fingers around Hanagata's as he leaned forward. "This is an exchange of goods and services, Mitsurugi. And if I remember correctly, we have already signed the contract, as it were."  
  
"I--iya!! Wait. I-- I never meant too..."  
  
But Faust silenced him by pressing a firm finger against Hanagata's lips. "I said I was an admirer of beautiful things, did I not, Mitsurugi?" His lips parted in a triumphant smile as he leaned closer. "But an admirer can only look so long, after all. Surely you must know this."  
  
"I -- I --" Hanagata's words were cut short, however, as Faust captured the young man's lips with his own, forcing him into a deep and dominating kiss.  
  
As Hanagata struggled beneath Gartlant's leader, he felt the warmth inside him increase to an aching heat. And yet, deep within his clouded mind, a thought nagged him with a fevered persistence. Otaru-kun... what would Otaru-kun say about this? Shouldn't this have been he, after all? Resting on top of him, kissing so sweetly and with such...  
  
"Mhhhh...." As Faust deepened the kiss, Hanagata soon found himself kissing back with as much force, a warmth spreading throughout his belly as he did. And gradually, almost imperceptibly, thoughts of the strawberry-blonde slowly ebbed into a nameless and heated desire for anything that could match it's temperature...  
  
Including the flesh above him that was now pulling slowly away...  
  
At last the two separated. Faust moved aside a little, licking his lips slowly, his eyes never leaving Hanagata's face.  
  
"Beautiful," he murmured. "Beautiful,"  
  
The heat was becoming unbearable. Slowly, Hanagata eased himself up onto the pillows, his small hands and slender legs sliding gracefully but hurriedly from the quilt, like an impatient moth in an early spring.  
  
At last, Hanagata knelt before Faust, his naked flesh glowing like strange sweat-tinged ice in the moonlight and his body quaking with an urge he could not comprehend.  
  
"Yes," Faust smiled, opening his arms slightly. "That's it, Mitsurugi. Now, come to me."  
And with a shriek that shattered the moonlight, Hanagata leapt from his crouch and into the slightly parted limbs. As the two tumbled onto the bed in a flurry of blankets and hair, Faust grunted in a mixture of surprise and anxious delight.  
  
With a strength he had never realized himself as possessing, Hanagata forced the long limbs to the sides of the bed, pinning them on either side of Faust's twisting head.  
  
"M--mitsurugi!!" the dictator exclaimed, wide-eyed.  
  
Hanagata merely smiled down at him. And his next words sounded like a cross between a growl and a seductive whisper. "Your wish is my command." And then, lowering himself into the circle of the larger man's open legs, Hanagata pressed his lips into Faust's, kissing, tasting, biting...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
Stars. There they were, trillions of lights burning quietly in the night's sky.   
  
Otaru sighed, leaning his head into the sweaty palm of his hand as he gazed up at the speckled canopy. It was an beautiful October evening, still warm enough to leave the windows open even though the air was tinged with the smells of frost and kindling. Across the street, his two neighbors were having their usual nightly quarrel (which would resolve itself in the next five minutes). It was as if nothing were missing, as if nothing had changed.   
  
Had it not been for the absence of Hanagata's shrill laughter, one might be tempted to say the young man had never existed.  
  
It was this thought that made Otaru want to slam the window on the night altogether.  
  
"Ne, Otaru?" a gentle hand rested on his shoulder.  
  
"Huh?" blinking his eyes furiously, Otaru turned to find Lime standing behind him, her deep green eyes touched with an indescribable concern. "Oh, hey Lime. 'M sorry. Didn't see you there." And to combat the look of concern in his marionette's eyes, Otaru reached up and patted her head until he got a laugh from her.  
  
"Hehehe I'm all tickly! Ne, ne, Otaru, whatcha doin'?" Lime asked, leaning against Otaru's shoulder and peering up into the sky with him.  
  
"Oh, nothing much. Just... looking at the stars. You know?"  
  
"Sugoi!" Lime's green eyes widened as she looked up with him. "There sure are a lot of them, Otaru!"  
  
The young man nodded his agreement as he began naming them for Lime. "See that one? It's called Draco. And that one over there is Ursa, which I think means 'bear' in an old Earth language. And that one over there is... well, I don't know what that one is named."  
  
"Hmmm... Starey?"  
  
Despite himself, Otaru chuckled. "Yeah, I guess we can call it Starey," he replied, putting his hand on Lime's shoulder.  
  
"Ne, Otaru?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I miss Hannie-chan, Otaru."  
  
At the mention of his friend, Otaru sighed and lowered his head back into his hand. "Yeah, I know, Lime," he replied, gazing back up into the night sky. "I miss him, too."  
  
"Otaru? Is it really true that Faust is a mean guy?"  
  
"Dunno. Never met him in person. But he sure acts mean when he does things like taking over other countries."   
  
~And like taking harmless tag alongs like Hanagata hostage,~ he added to himself. ~I should never have let him come!~  
  
"Well..." Lime took a deep breath. "Would Faust be mean to Hannie-chan? Like... like torture him and stuff?"  
  
Otaru was shocked. "Who told you that Faust tortured people, Lime?"  
  
The small marionette pressed her index fingers together and looked down at them. "Nobody did. I heard Grampa Iyesu and Hikozaemon-san talking 'bout it before the guards let us in to see them."  
  
"I see." Otaru replied, hoping that Lime wouldn't press the matter further. After the day's events, he really didn't feel up to explaining the concept of tearing down another human being's body and spirit to such an innocent mind.  
  
"They said that they were scared that Faust might torture Hannie-chan," Lime continued. "Otaru? Is that gonna happen?"  
  
And again, Otaru turned turned around to look at her. As he gazed into Lime's wide green eyes, he felt the pain that had been pulsing in his belly since Hanagata's disappearance threaten to pour out of his eyes.  
  
"O--otaru?!" Lime cried as the young man suddenly lunged forward and wrapped her into a tight hug.  
  
"Don't say that Lime! Please," Otaru whispered, hugging the marionette tightly. "'Cause we aren't gonna let that happen, okay? As soon as Grampa Iyesu finds out whether --" Otaru cut himself off before he could say 'whether or not Hanagata's still alive.' "Where Faust is keeping him, then we're gonna go back and find him and bring him back home."  
  
"Really?" Lime asked, breaking out of the hug to look into Otaru's eyes.  
  
"Yeah! Really!" Otaru gave her a smile he didn't feel like giving and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. "Now, it's been a real long day, Lime. So we should probably go to sleep, okay?"  
  
"Okay!" Seemingly happy again, Lime smiled at Otaru before jumping onto his back.  
  
"W--woah! Hey!"  
  
"Yay! Piggy back! Piggy back to bed, 'kay Otaru?!"  
  
Smiling his first genuine smile for the day, Otaru hefted the marionette up and nodded. "Yeah, okay. But we haveta be quiet now, okay? 'Cause Cherry and Bloodberry are already asleep."  
  
"Hehehe. Okay! Ne, Otaru?!"  
  
"Yeah, Lime?"  
  
The marionette wrapped her arms around him and gently nuzzled his cheek. "I love you."  
  
"And I love you, too, Lime," Otaru said as he carried her towards the bedroom he shared with the three marionettes. Behind him, through the open window, the stars burned on as if silently contemplating the fears Lime's kindness had pushed momentarily from her master's mind.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The creeping sunlight awoke Hanagata from a comfortable slumber to the awareness of another presence in the room.  
  
"Mh... Yumeji?" a delicate hand moved from beneath the quilt to touch the warmth beside him.  
  
Another bad dream... Hanagata mused, gently stroking the boy's hand. Really, Yumeji was getting far too big to sleep with his onii-sama, nightmare or not. But for now, Hanagata was merely content to let the child lie beside him. After all, if he could do nothing else correctly, Hanagata could protect the little boy...   
  
"Mhhh," closing his eyes, Hanagata instinctively nestled closer to the form beside him. "'Sokay, Yumeji, everything's ...going to be fine..."  
  
"Of course it is, "onii-sama"," Faust whispered, draping an arm around Hanagata's back. And in a flash, the young man remembered where he was.  
  
"Leaving me so soon, Mitsurugi?" the dictator asked, catching Hanagata by the shoulder as the young man attempted to pull away from him. "I wouldn't. The sun may be up but the room is still cold."  
  
Blushing furiously, Hanagata burrowed into the eiderdown, attempting to hide his naked body from Faust's roving eyes. It seemed Gartlant's fuhrer had no such qualms about his own state of undress, however. Faust merely smiled approvingly as Hanagata's horror-struck eyes took in his muscular chest and back. "I trust you slept well after your... exertions?"  
  
"I..." Hanagata swallowed as images of the evening returned to his shaken mind. Hot flesh, willing hands caressing a muscular backside as Faust moaned his name again and again. "I... I didn't..."  
  
Faust's smile merely widened slightly. "Oh, yes. And quite well, I might add."  
  
"Oh God..."   
  
"That's exactly what I said."  
  
Hanagata only blushed miserably and looked down into the many folds of the blanket as Faust's fingers toyed with his hair.  
  
"Do you deny that you enjoyed it?"  
  
"I -- I wasn't -- it wasn't my --"  
  
"You were willing enough at the time, I dare say."   
  
"No I -- please!!" Hanagata cried, pulling away from Faust's exploration of his back. "I didn't want to!! You -- you did some -- gave me something that -- that made me --" tears budded in the corners of his eyes as he cowered against the headboard.   
  
"I did something?" Gartlant's fuhrer raised an eyebrow in mock-surprise as his hands began to peel away the eiderdown. "Quite the contrary, Mitsurugi... it was you who did something...mhh..."  
  
The young man whimpered in fear as Faust slid the cloth from his shoulders. "You who invited me into your arms, you who practically held me down and took whatever you wanted, Hanagata Mitsurugi..." slowly, he trailed his fingers down the young man's chest, smiling slightly at the fear this simple motion caused. "And if anyone is guilty of an indiscretion," he lowered his lips to the base of Hanagata's neck to sample the pale sweat-soaked flesh. "I would say you need look no farther than yourself."  
  
Hanagata trembled for a few moments as Faust's lips explored his neck and shoulders. All of this.. it had to be a dream, he decided. A terrible nightmare brought on by indigestion. Yes. Any moment now he would wake up and the dog would -- the family dog would be licking his face or something like that. Yes...  
  
~Please, God, just let it stop... just let it stop...~  
  
However, Hanagata's frightened mind sobered the moment Faust's lips met his own. With a muffled shriek, he roughly shoved the larger man away and leaped from the bed, forgetting to pull the eiderdown along with him.  
  
"Very nice," Faust commented as Hanagata hurried to cover himself with his hands.  
  
"Shut up!!" Faust could not have been more surprised at this outburst than Hanagata was. "You forced me and you -- you know it!!"  
  
"Has anyone ever told you what a beautiful body you have?"  
  
Blushing furiously, Hanagata grabbed for the eiderdown only to have it pulled from his reach at the last possible second.   
  
"Temper, temper," Faust purred, raising an index finger to wag at the furious and shivering Hanagata. "One might be tempted to think you felt more than simple outrage at last night's -- encounter."  
  
"I have no idea what you mean!!"   
"Oh no? Then perhaps I should put it in simpler terms. I'm referring to the possibility that you aren't angry because you feel violated. But that you're angry because you're experiencing a case of acute...regret."  
  
"Yes, I thought so," he continued when Hanagata's eyes widened in shock. "You feel as if you've betrayed someone, don't you? Someone by the name of..." his lips twisted as he snarled the next words. "...Otaru Mamiya?"  
  
"H--how do you know that?" Hanagata palled as he lowered his hands to his sides. "Who -- who told you that --?"  
  
He was startled when Gartlant's fuhrer simply leaned against the headboard and laughed. "Your country seems to be under the impression that Gartlant lacks both the efficiency and the ambition to spy on Japoness citizens. If that is the case, I can assure you your government is very much mistaken."  
  
"H-- how did you know that?" Hanagata repeated, helplessly. Although the chill of the room was seeping into his flesh, his insides felt ready to explode from a creeping fearful heat.  
  
Faust simply closed his eyes and smiled slightly. He listened to the young man repeat the question a few times before speaking again. "In the first place, your feelings for Otaru Mamiya are not a well-kept secret especially in your own country. And even if they were, your continued association with a national hero instantly gave us a reason to watch you."  
  
"C--continued association?"  
  
Faust seemed irritated at the question. "By appearing with Otaru-kun as his manager at every television appearance, book signing and public event, I'm afraid you made yourself a subject of some import to our agents. Thus, they -- and I by default -- know all about your feelings for the boy. It's very touching, you know."  
  
Hanagata could not have felt more naked and helpless before Gartlant's fuhrer after these words.  
  
"You often told the object of your affections that you were his soul-mate, did you not? That you were alone his devotee?"   
  
"Yes," Hanagata murmured miserably, sliding his arms around his chest in a self-protective hug.  
  
"Indeed," the smile on Faust's lips became almost triumphant. "Then it must hurt all the more that you betrayed him yesterday afternoon. That's right," he continued as Hanagata remained in dejected and absolute silence. "That is what your information was to him, my flower. A betrayal."  
  
"You made me," Hanagata whispered, struggling to keep the tears from falling down his face.  
  
"I highly doubt that he will see things as you do."  
  
"L--liar," Hanagata whimpered, hugging himself even tighter. "You're a liar..."  
  
"Am I?" Faust shrugged absentmindedly. "Perhaps. Would you like to return to Japoness and ask him yourself? You're entirely free to do so, you know," he continued when Hanagata remained silent. "After all, you've told us everything we needed to know about your... friend's doings in our country, and about what he would have done had we not caught you. And even though I'd quite like to keep you for the incredible sex alone, this is not sufficient enough reason. So go on. You will find some clothing in the cabinet to your right. And when you are sufficiently dressed and prepared, my saberdolls will escort you to the Japoness border. But I caution you, Mitsurugi," he said as the youth took a few hesitant steps towards the cabinet. "They will ask you what happened. And no matter how you lie, they will eventually find out what you told us and..." his voice lowered to a near-sadistic whisper. "Your beloved will find out how you stained his honor by fucking the very man you swore you would help him fight. At the least, you'll be executed for treason. And at the most, he will hate you for the rest of his days. Now think carefully, boy. And if you find that your freedom is far more important than your life or his love, then by all means, dress and leave. But if you find any truth in this liar's words, then you know that what I say is nothing short of the truth."  
  
For a moment, Hanagata looked towards the cabinet defiantly. And then, slowly, his lip began to tremble until his entire face followed suit. "You're cruel," he whispered, raising a hand to wipe his eyes.  
  
"I am no more kind or cruel than any man alive, Mitsurugi," Faust replied. "I simply speak the truth. And I simply know enough to take what I want in life. When Hanagata remained frozen in a stunned silence, Faust shook his head. "But don't trouble yourself with thoughts of that now," Smiling at the boy, he gently patted the mattress beside him. "You look cold, Mitsurugi...why don't you sit down for a moment and warm yourself up?"  
  
Hanagata opened his mouth as if to protest. But upon seeing the determination in Faust's eyes, he promptly closed it. Bowing his head, the young man walked towards the bed and obediently sat down next to the dictator. And this time, he offered no resistance as Faust reached out and took his hand.  
  
"Now, now," the dictator purred, leaning forward and kissing the tears from Hanagata's eyes. "Don't cry, little one. Tears hardly become you. Now," he said, lying back and opening his arms. "Why don't you come here and rest for awhile? I'll make certain that you feel better."  
  
And shaking, Hanagata obeyed.  
  
(TBC?) 


End file.
